The Books of Magic #2: Bindings (Books of Magic (EOS)) [Paperback]

Carla Jablonski (Author)

Book Description

Series: Books of Magic (EOS) | Publication Date: May 13, 2003

Do you believe in magic?

Timothy Hunter is just like any other thirteen-year-old boy in London . . . except for the tiny fact that he might be the most powerful magician of his time.

An enigmatic man named Tamlin has decided that Tim is the key to saving the dying world of Faerie. But exactly how Tim is supposed to do that -- and who Tamlin really is -- remains to be seen. . . .

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Carla Jablonski has edited and written dozens of best-selling books for children and young adults. She is also an actress, a playwright, and a trapeze artist, and has performed extensively in Scotland and in New York City. A lifelong resident of New York City, she currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen; 1st Eos ed edition (May 13, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064473805
• ISBN-13: 978-0064473804
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,492,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting story with twists & turns!, July 2, 2006

By 

creativedawn (Bullhead City, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Books of Magic #2: Bindings (Books of Magic (EOS)) (Paperback)

This story about Timothy Hunter reminds me of Harry Potter. Although this is a quick read (I read within a few hours) the story is a page turner! Interesting characters and Tim seemed real. This is the 2nd book in the series and worth reading. Enjoy!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing special, October 7, 2003

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Books of Magic #2: Bindings (Books of Magic (EOS)) (Paperback)

Life is rough if you're a teenage wizard. No, not Harry Potter -- Timothy Hunter, a bespectacled young wiz who predates the present wizardmania. The second of Carla Jablonski's novelizations (of Neil Gaiman's graphic novels) is a pleasant enough adaptation, but really adds nothing.

The land of Faerie is dying. The falconer Tamlin (who can turn into a bird), onetime lover of Queen Titania, seeks to bring it back to life, but the haughty queen won't listen to him. Faerie has been disconnected from the mortal world, and now it's withering away. Who can help it? Timothy Hunter might.

Timothy, still adjusting to the knowledge of his magical ability, is suddenly faced with a new question -- who is his father? The man he's always lived with and called "Dad," or Tamlin? His questions are violently answered when he encounters a horrific beast that is destroying Faerie. To save Faerie, will Tim die?

"Bindings" takes the story Gaiman created in the first "Book of Magic" and uses it as a springboard. There are new characters, a new tone, a faster pace, and the start of an overhanging story arc about Faerie, Titania and Tim's mysterious past. Things suddenly get a whole lot more complex.

Unfortunately, Jablonski's novelization really doesn't do anything for the story -- it's a good story but it could have been much, much better. It evokes little, describes little, and the main additions are minor scenes that weren't in the graphic novel. There's a little more insight into the thoughts of Tamlin and Tim, but the lack of description becomes a little frustrating.

While "Books of Magic 2: Bindings" makes a nice companion piece to the graphic novels, it's not immensely gripping on its own. A good fantasy story, given a middling treatment.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bindings Simplified, May 20, 2003

By 

Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Books of Magic #2: Bindings (Books of Magic (EOS)) (Paperback)

This is the second of the Books of Magic novels based upon the DC comics of the same name. This volume retells the story cycle called Bindings.

The land of Faerie is in trouble and the falconer Tamlin turns to Timothy for help. Faerie is dying. It has been disconnected from our world for too long. Tamlin brings Timothy back to Faerie to show him the desolation but Timothy does not understand.

But after another meeting with Tamlin, and a homeless man named Kenny, Timothy is faced with a new mystery. Who is his father, really? Is it the man he always thought was his father or is it the falconer? Looking for answers, Timothy finds himself back in Faerie in an even more desolate spot.

Timothy quickly finds himself the plaything of a strange man/creature who wants to play with him and then eat him. While trying to stay alive, Tamlin finally manages to convince Queen Titania that Faerie is in trouble and she should remove the walls she has put between Faerie and the human world. She does, but it will not work. Something is blocking it.

Meanwhile Timothy manages to get the best of his captor and finds himself visiting with Death. No, he is not dead, but he is close. Tamlin meanwhile finds Tim's body and takes it to Titania to be cured.

How all these elements tie together (who is Tim's father, how can Tamlin save Tim, will Tim leave Death's realm, will Faerie be saved, etc.) will be left for the reader.

Once again, this novelization lacks much of what made the comic story work. Carla has left out many elements, ones that show Timothy's cleverness, ones that build the sinister nature of Timothy's captor, even the desolation facing Faerie. While in the original Timothy definitely does not have the key to the worlds with him, in this version he uses it to help overcome his captor.

Too much was changed in this story and in the previous one. I do not have high hopes for other volumes in the series.